Philemon 1:9-10

1:9 I would rather appeal ¹  to you on the basis of love – I, Paul, an old man ²  and even now a prisoner for the sake of Christ Jesus ³  – 1:10 I am appealing ⁴  to you concerning my child, whose spiritual father I have become ⁵  during my imprisonment, ⁶  that is, Onesimus,

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¹ tn Or “encourage.”

² tn Or perhaps “an ambassador” (so RSV, TEV), reading πρεσβευτής for πρεσβύτης (a conjecture proposed by Bentley, cf. BDAG 863 s.v. πρεσβύτης). NRSV reads “old man” and places “ambassador” in a note.

³ tn Grk “a prisoner of Christ Jesus.”

⁴ tn Or “I am encouraging…”

⁵ tn Grk “my child whom I have begotten.” The adjective “spiritual” has been supplied before “father” in the translation to clarify for the modern reader that Paul did not literally father a child during his imprisonment. Paul’s point is that he was instrumental in Onesimus’ conversion while in prison.

⁶ sn During my imprisonment. Apparently Onesimus became a believer under Paul’s shepherding while he [Paul] was a prisoner in Rome.